Bʏ Mᴀʀʏ Mᴡᴇɴᴅᴇ
While global markets rapidly evolve and prioritize sustainability, inclusivity, and resilience, the continent still risks lagging behind, not for lack of potential, but because of longstanding fragmentation and a fragile business environment.
That was the core message from Patricia Gakure, founder of Girdling Roots, as she addressed stakeholders at a recent sustainability forum. Patricia, an advocate for Africa’s place in the global ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) conversation, emphasized that the continent can no longer afford to be a spectator in a world that’s restructuring its business priorities around sustainable practices.
“I believe that we cannot continue staying in the back end when the world is evolving further,” she stated.
Lessons from Southeast Asia
To support this mission, Patricia undertook a benchmarking journey through Southeast Asia, visiting 52 cities and engaging directly with farms, manufacturers, and traders to understand how they integrate sustainability into their business models.
The result of this ambitious project was a framework she now champions which encourages organizations to adopt business processes grounded in adaptiveness, inclusiveness, and future readiness. According to Patricia, this approach is vital for companies navigating fragile or fragmented environments like those often found across Africa’s agribusiness sectors.
Addressing Africa’s Unique Gaps
While the discussions at the forum touched on key pillars of ESG, human rights, environmental conservation, and corporate governance, Patricia argued that Africa requires a tailored roadmap to truly unlock sustainable and profitable growth.
She identified market access and market intelligence as two critical missing pieces. “For us to get into a sustainable, profitable pathway, we need to address these issues specifically for Africa,” she noted.
One of the stark comparisons she made was the market size difference between Africa’s horticulture exports and Southeast Asia’s. Africa’s export trade is valued around $11 billion, while Southeast Asia’s horticultural market stands at approximately $90 billion. Southeast Asia’s population, currently about 700 million, is expected to increase by roughly 57 million people over the next 15 years, reaching around 757 million by 2040. Africa’s exporters stand to gain significantly if they position themselves strategically.
“Even if we had just 10 percent of that market, we’d all be laughing harder in this market,” she remarked.
The Non-Negotiable Role of Certifications
A recurring lesson from her benchmarking tour was the importance of certifications in accessing high-value markets. “We cannot stay away from certifications,” she stressed, noting that for African producers to meet international market requirements, certification must be embraced not as a burden but as a crucial part of doing business.
In Southeast Asia, governments have unified their position by integrating all certification schemes under centralized oversight. This has provided clarity for producers, exporters, and regulators, an initiative she believes Africa urgently needs to replicate.
Africa’s horticulture export industry, she warned, remains vulnerable because of disjointed representation and conflicting positions on compliance issues. “Right now, it’s a major life complication,” she said candidly, calling for a consolidated platform that brings together farmers, councils, regulatory bodies, and certification authorities.
She revealed that one of her ongoing projects is to establish such a unified body, a framework that would give Africa’s horticulture players a competitive edge in international markets while supporting smallholders and exporters to navigate evolving ESG demands.
“We need to stop being so fragmented in how we do our businesses and have a unified voice on how to deal with issues,” she concluded.